A mother of five young children, who was driven out of her Shepherd's Bush home after being subjected to a vile campaign of religious and racial hatred by her next door neighbour, has spoken of the devastating toll the ordeal took on her - and her young family.

Cheryl McKeown verbally abused and intimidated 32-year-old Koutar Mrimou and her family, her anger and rage, a court heard this week, seemingly fuelled and motivated by a warped perception Islam.

Mum Miss Mrimou, speaking to getwestlondon, said she hoped that the suspended jail sentence, restraining order and curfew handed to McKeown would mark the end of her prolonged nightmare, which she said has had a devastating effect on her and her children.

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On another occasion, in January 2017, she said: "This is becoming an Islamic estate. Get your f****** children out of this country."

Another account included McKeown blowing cannabis smoke into the face of Miss Mrimou while she cradled her 18-month old son.

She would also film Miss Mrimou's guests arriving or leaving her house and make vomiting noises.

The constant abuse left Miss Mrimou fearing for her sanity, her safety and that of her children, and even left her home to live with her mother.

Koutar Mrimou and her children were subjected a prolonged campaign of abuse (Image: Goolistan Cooper)

She said her seven-year-old son would not step outside if McKeown was there: "He is petrified of her and this has affected him massively," she said. "I've seen his behaviour change."

Miss Mrimou said the defendant would also bully her daughter, who went on to testify against McKeown in court: "We were kept in separate rooms during the trial and I wasn't allowed in court to see her speak.

"But it was really hard knowing she had to go through that. She suffers from anxiety and is a nervous wreck. She only 14 and she's been through enough. She didn't need to be there. That was possibly the most difficult part.

"She made a lot of remarks about my daughter. It really affected me that an adult is intimidating and bullying a child that already suffers anxiety and self confidence - I still can't get my head around it to be honest."

She said her first complaints to police were dismissed, and believes they thought McKeown was initially the victim.

In a victim impact statement, read out during McKeown's sentencing hearing, Miss Mrimou spoke about the emotional drain the ordeal had on her and her children.

"She (McKeown) has left me feeling vulnerable, intimidated and not feeling safe in my own home," she said.

'He cared, he believed me'

But Miss Mrimou said the support and help of Shepherd's Bush beat bobby PC Tom Cooke gave her the courage to prosecute.

"I felt the police were always making excuses for her behaviour," she said. "She was getting away with intimidating and bullying me.

"It was driving me to the point where I nearly had a breakdown. I spent every single day at my mum's. I moved in there for a couple of months because the abuse was so bad I couldn't deal with it."

PC Tom Cooke has urged other victims to speak up and tell police (Image: Met Police)

Miss Mrimou continued: "But Tom has been amazing. It was so difficult to get someone to believe what I was going through on a daily basis.

"I was able to take this to court because of him, because of Tom's support. He cared and that meant he believed me and what I was going through when nobody else did. I can't describe how appreciative I am of Tom."

After giving evidence against McKeown, mum and daughter went home and waited for the verdict.

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"When Tom called and told me I was over the moon, it was the best feeling ever," said Miss Mrimou.

"We had been through so much that I got to the point where I started doubting myself. It was always my word against hers.

"The judge also saw that I was the victim and that I had been going though verbal abuse. That was the best feeling to have someone believe me."

Imre Close where many of the confrontations took place (Image: Goolistan Cooper)

PC Cooke has since hailed the verdict: "Koutar went through an unbelievable amount of harassment," he said. "It was continuous. The victim stood up and we had to stand up and take responsibility.

"We will not tolerate hatred of any faith or ethnicity. We will fully support any victim of crime. Anyone in the neighbourhood going through anything similar should report it to the police. You should not be going through this."

Urging other victims to speak out, Miss Mrimou added: "I understand why people are put off to call the police and write statements and to take it as far as I have took it.

"As hard as it is I do advise people to take it as far as you can take it, because people like this shouldn't be able to get away with terrorising or making anyone uncomfortable in their own home."

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